Sir Alastair Robin ‘3rd Baronet and 9th Laird of Strathgarry’ Stewart, died peacefully, aged 96, on Sunday, 13 February at home in Walters Cottage with his beloved wife Patricia and his daughters Judith, Lucy and Catherine beside him. He had been quietly ‘winding down’ for several months and the end was very gentle.
After leaving the army in 1947, Alastair joined Neale and Wilkinson Ltd where he developed a flair for finding new accounts and helped the company develop new services and open new facilities. He stayed with the company until 1970 when he resigned to start Stewart and Harvey Ltd with Len Harvey who had joined N&W at the same time after leaving the Fleet Air Arm.
The company was established in Dagenham with an office in Trafalgar Square to develop the baggage business. He and Len were soon joined by former colleagues, the company joined BAR and FIDI and Alastair later became chairman of the BAR Overseas Group. He was well known in the international moving world having travelled widely to conferences and through the many business relationships he maintained through the industry.
Alastair was the youngest son of Sir Kenneth Dugald Stewart and his wife Noel Brodribb. Sir Kenneth was a successful cotton trader and, among other offices, was the chairman of the Lancashire Cotton Corporation. He was made a Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire in 1927. Alastair was born in 1925 and married Patricia in 1953, with whom he had four children.
Catherine Stewart, Alastair’s youngest daughter, said that starting the Stewart and Harvey business was something of a risk ...
Photo: Sir Alastair Stewart.